


A Good Day

by eyrk



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 14:52:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2154690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyrk/pseuds/eyrk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver and Felicity grow old together. A brief look into one day of their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Good Day

            He wakes up at exactly five in the morning, taking care not to shift the bed too much so that she can get some sleep. The nightmares claimed her in the dark last night and he had to coax her back to bed with gentle whispers and soft brushing of her hair. He only allowed himself to fall asleep when he heard her breaths even out into a steady rhythm.

            He sighs as he brings his feet down to the cold wooden floor and looks back at his wife before he tucks the covers around her. Then with a creak in the knees, he heaves himself up and heads down to the kitchen.

            “Mr. Queen, here is your breakfast,” Stella, their helper, says while putting the plate on the table. She then sets a bowl of soup next to the plate and gives him a smile.

            “Thank you, Stella,” he croaks, the sleep still lingering in his throat.

            Stella tilts her head and frowns.

            “Long night?” the young woman asks, wiping her hands on her apron.

            He stares down at his clam chowder and nods.

            Stella looks at him long and hard before coming around the table to give him a peck on his cheek.

            “You’re a good man, Mr. Queen,” she says.

            Oliver shakes his head and Stella sighs before patting him on the back. Then she walks over to the coffeemaker and pours out a large mug of coffee. She hands it to him and he takes it with a grateful grin.

            Stella grabs a stack of Post-It notes that are stuck on to the large fridge and furrows her eyebrows as she goes through them.

            “Mr. Diggle’s coming over for a game of chess in the afternoon, and your daughter is visiting with her kids for dinner,” she says but then her eyes widen when she looks up from the notes.

            He follows her gaze and sees his wife standing in the doorway, dressed and washed up. The way she glances at him and at Stella makes her look small and almost childlike.

            “Oliver?” Felicity says quietly.

            Stella hurries to serve another plate as Oliver stands up to kiss her on the top of her head.

            “Morning, Felicity,” he says softly before he guides her to her chair. Stella places her breakfast in front of her with a warm smile.

            “Good morning, Mrs. Queen,” she says. “I’ve got your eggs for you.”

            Felicity looks up at Stella and smiles back.

            “Stella, you can call me Felicity, remember?” she says lightly as she digs into her breakfast.

            Stella and Oliver exchange glances. Oliver lets out a small breath as he watches his wife eat wholeheartedly, something he hasn’t seen in days, and wants to grab her by the shoulders and plant a big one right on the lips. He chuckles at the thought.

            Felicity looks up, with her fork in mid-air, and sees them both looking at her.

            “What? Do I have something on my face?” she asks.

            Oliver shakes his head.

            “You’re fine. It’s just – it’s going to be a good day,” he says. She still seems confused but shrugs before getting back to her meal.

            Oliver walks over to the cabinet and pulls out the medicine container. He opens the tab for Tuesday and pours out the cocktail of pills onto his palm. As he turns, Stella already has a glass of water ready for him and he takes it in his other hand. Then he places it all in front of Felicity.

            “Do me a favor and take these, okay?” he says as he sits back down in his chair.

            His wife stares at the pills and when the realization dawns, she sighs.

            “How long has it been since…” she trails off.

            Oliver puts his hand on the side of her face as he tilts her head back up gently to meet his eyes.

            “Your last good day was about a week ago,” he says softly and then rubs her cheek with his thumb. “Hey. You’re okay.”

            They don’t hear Stella leave the room, and Felicity nods. She grabs the pills and tosses them in her mouth before downing it with a few sips of water. Felicity glances over at Oliver’s plate and frowns.

            “You should eat,” she says sternly.

            Oliver chuckles again and obeys her command.

           

 

            He drapes his jacket over her shoulders and she pulls it around her close, breathing in the scent of the leather. Then he comes around to sit next to her on their patio and they stare out at their garden. The breeze rustle the colorful petals and the birds chirp around the bird feeder.

            He glances over at Felicity and she looks deep in thought as she watches the birds hop around to peck at some seeds. He’s gotten accustomed to seeing his Arrow jacket on her. Felicity found comfort in it in the past few months and he thinks it’s because most days she thinks she’s back in the lair, hacking away at her computers to help him fight the villains taking over Starling City.

            “Emily is coming with the kids tonight,” he says.

            She turns her head to him and gives him a bright smile.

            “Do you think the twins will be crazy? I hope so. Thea says they’re worse than you were at their age. Poor Emily,” she says with a light chuckle.

            Oliver rolls his eyes. “Luckily, our daughter has better parenting sense than my parents did.”

            He leans over and kisses her on the cheek.

            “I think she gets that from you,” he says softly, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin. 

            Felicity grabs his hand and squeezes it tight. Then something changes in her eyes and she brings her chin back down. She sighs and rests her head on his shoulder.

            “It’s only going to get harder, Oliver. There’s a nice home only a few miles out. Maybe it’s time –”

            Oliver draws in a sharp breath.

            “No.”

            When she lifts her head up, he takes ahold of her face and looks at her.

            “No, Felicity,” he says.

            Tears well up in her eyes and she grabs his wrists. She circles her thumb over his pulse point slowly and nods.

            “Okay,” she whispers.

            She leans back again. They both fall asleep under the sun and to the sounds of the birds chirping.

 

 

            “Oliver, wake up! Come on. You know Isabel Rochev is going to give you hell if you’re late again,” Felicity says, jerking him awake by shaking his shoulders.

            He squints at the sun and then sees his concerned wife.

            “W-what?” he rasps and then clears his throat. “Sorry, what?”

            “Isabel Rochev. You know, the evil one? Sorry, I know you guys had a thin-” Felicity says quickly.

            Oliver grabs her by the shoulders to keep her from finishing that sentence.

            “Right. Right. Let me just – let me get ready, okay?” he says, as he tries to clear his head.

            He stands up and holds his hand out for her to take without thinking. She looks down and stares at it.

            “Uh –” Felicity says and arches her eyebrow.

            Oliver shuts his eyes as he drops his hand to his side.

            “Sorry,” he replies and then opens his eyes with a smile, “Let’s go inside. Your laptop’s on the table … just in there.”

            He slides open the patio doors and places his hand on the small of her back. He can’t help but grin when he sees the flush on her face at the touch. It’s times like these that make all of this go a lot easier for him. He gets to experience those days, when every touch felt exciting and completely new, all over again.

            She sits at the table and hammers away at the laptop while he trudges back up to the bedroom to make the bed just the way she likes it. He clears out any laundry and replaces the old towels with fresh ones in their bathroom. Stella takes care of every room in the house but their master bedroom.

            Oliver doesn’t know why, but he prefers to take care of it himself. Maybe it’s because Felicity used to procrastinate on frustrating projects by cleaning up the place while muttering to herself about crazy deadlines.

            His knees groan after awhile and he makes his way back to Felicity, who’s frowning at the computer.

            “Why am I hacking into the FBI database?” she asks, glancing up at him. When she sees his apologetic expression, Felicity sighs and buries her face in her hands.

            “I wanted it to be a good day,” she says wearily.

            “Come here,” Oliver murmurs and she wraps herself around him.

            He holds her tight.

 

 

            “Just because we’re old doesn’t mean we have to take up chess,” Dig grumbles as he moves his pawn up on the chessboard.

            Oliver stares at the board as he contemplates his next move.

            “What do you suggest, Dig?” he murmurs as he moves his piece and tosses Dig’s pawn to the side.

            “We could put up targets. You can pull out your bow and I’ll pull out my gun. It’ll be fun,” Dig replies, glaring at the pieces Oliver’s already taken.

            Oliver looks up with a grin.

            “Tomorrow?” he asks.

            “Deal,” Dig says, stretching out his shoulders.

            “Great. A pair of men in their seventies running around shooting arrows and guns. Our next door neighbor already hates us,” Felicity mutters, crossing her arms. Then she shakes her head and gently slaps Dig’s hand when he’s about to make his move. “Nuh-uh. You don’t want to do that.”

            Oliver frowns at his wife who has her arm around Dig’s shoulders and is sitting on the armrest of the man’s chair. She points to the bishop, and Dig grins up at her before he slides it a few spaces over on the board.

            “You’re _my_ wife. Why are you taking his side?” he scowls when he realizes he’s stuck.

            “Because he’s hopeless at this,” Felicity says, patting their old teammate on the head. Then she tilts her head and looks at Oliver. “You’re pretty awful too.”

            Suddenly, she straightens up, her eyes glancing up at the ceiling.

            “I think I hear Jack crying,” Felicity says. “Let me go check on him.”

            Dig shoots Oliver an alarmed look as Felicity makes her way upstairs. Oliver rubs his head and leans back in his chair.

            “You okay, man?” his friend asks.

            Jack. John Stephen Queen. Their second child, his oldest son died of a bad fever when he was three months old. The devastation put a fog over the Queen household for a long time and it had taken months for Felicity to smile again. Each year on his birthday, for thirty-three years, she and Oliver visited his grave with flowers and cake.

            Oliver pinches the bridge of his nose.

            “Yeah. I hate it when she’s back…there.”

            Then he chuckles darkly after a quiet moment. “This morning, you know what Stella said? She told me I’m a good man. ”

            Dig leans forward with sharp eyes. “Look, we both did some things that … I’m not proud of. But she made you a good man. So honor her by remembering that.”

            Oliver looks at his old friend, his hair almost now shocking white. The creases around his eyes – he’s seen them form as they worked together every night to fight crime in Starling City. Dig’s right. They both did some terrible things – before they met and after they became partners, a team.

            But Felicity.

            She kept them from plunging into the darkness.

            She was their light.

 

 

            “Grandpa! Look at what I drawed!” Timmy shouts, waving his construction paper up in the air.

            Oliver squints down at the paper and sees a crude drawing of a man in green holding what looks like a bow. He looks up at his daughter and she grins sheepishly as she pulls out a spoon from her mouth.

            Emily sticks it back in the carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream and raises both of her hands.

            “I didn’t tell them anything. I can’t help it – Green Arrow is a legend around here,” she says and then takes another spoonful of the ice cream.

            “He’s so cool. He lets go of the arrow and _thwat_. Bullseye!” Miles yells as he gets off the stool to demonstrate the firing of an arrow.

            Oliver grins and tousles both heads.

            “If you rascals don’t watch out, your mom’s going to eat all of that ice cream,” he says, pointing his thumb at his daughter.

            Emily scowls and wraps her arm around the carton.

            “You jerk,” she gasps theatrically and then sighs before she gets two bowls. “All right, fine. I’ll share, but _sit quietly_. For like two seconds, please, I beg of you.”

            Oliver watches as his grandkids shovel the ice cream into their mouths, but looks up when he feels a soft hand on his shoulder. Emily and he both smile at Felicity, who looks tired but happy.

            “You’re up,” he says, patting her hand that’s still resting on his shoulder.

            “Mom, you want some ice cream?” Emily asks.

            Felicity smiles and shakes her head.

            “That’s alright, honey. I’m okay.”

            Then she walks over and kisses each boy on his head.

            “When you boys are done with your ice cream, we can go outside and catch some fireflies. What do you think?” Felicity asks, with a twinkle in her eyes.

            “YES!” the twins shout.

            Oliver and Emily watch as Felicity helps Timmy drop a captured firefly into a jar out on their expansive green lawn. Emily sips at her coffee, wriggling her bare toes in the grass and then leans her head on her father’s shoulder.

            “She’s so great,” she murmurs.

            Oliver wraps his arm around her and pulls her close.

            “So are you,” he says.

            “I’m glad the kids got to see her like this today,” Emily says, squeezing her cup.

            “It’s a good day,” he says, looking out at his wife, who’s laughing and holding Miles by the hand.

            Emily lifts her head up and stares at him. He tears his eyes away from Felicity to look at his daughter.

            “You’re pretty great too,” she whispers.

 

 

            Felicity sighs as she gets underneath the covers. Oliver slips his arm so that she can rest her head on it and then crooks it so that she falls over to him. She puts her hand on his chest and laughs.

            “Did you see Miles with that firefly? He was _singing_ to it,” she says, eyes bright at the memory.

            He chuckles, her hair ruffling near his mouth. He smoothes it out by gently brushing her hair and she sighs again at the motion.

            “I like it when you do that,” she murmurs, burrowing closer to him.

            “I know,” Oliver says softly.

            They stay like that for awhile, in bed, in the dark, with him brushing away. Then Felicity scoots herself up and gazes at him.

            She leans down and kisses him softly on the lips before settling back in his arms.

            Oliver chuckles again.

            “What?” Felicity says, grinning.

            “You love me,” he sighs happily.

            Felicity slaps him lightly on his chest and says, “Shut up.”

            He tightens his grip on her and rubs her shoulder. He’s about to fall asleep when Felicity whispers –

            “Do you think tomorrow will be a good day too?”

            Oliver turns to look at his wife and smiles.

            “Each day with you is a good day, Felicity.”


End file.
